Buggy Hopper?

[MikeMoss]

Hi

For the last couple of weeks my Hopper will suddenly go off, the TV will go black and after a while the Starting Up screen will pop up and it will go through the startup process and the TV will come back on.

This happens at least once a day, at random times but usually right in the middle of something I'm watching.

I've found that I can speed up the process by unplugging it and plugging it back in which starts the process without the delay that ensues otherwise.

Anyone know if there is something I can do the stop this?

Another question, if this thing is about to fail again, (I'm already on my 2nd in just a couple of years), I should back up some of the stuff I have recorded.

I have several 500mb and 1Gig external hard drives, can I just use one of those or should I buy a specific type of hard drive?

If I should get a specific type of drive what is it?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Mike

 

[KAB]

Hi

For the last couple of weeks my Hopper will suddenly go off, the TV will go black and after a while the Starting Up screen will pop up and it will go through the startup process and the TV will come back on.

This happens at least once a day, at random times but usually right in the middle of something I'm watching.

I've found that I can speed up the process by unplugging it and plugging it back in which starts the process without the delay that ensues otherwise.

Anyone know if there is something I can do the stop this?

Another question, if this thing is about to fail again, (I'm already on my 2nd in just a couple of years), I should back up some of the stuff I have recorded.

I have several 500mb and 1Gig external hard drives, can I just use one of those or should I buy a specific type of hard drive?

If I should get a specific type of drive what is it?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Mike

You should absolutely back up your recordings (if you want to keep them). Your hard drives will be fine.

 

[Hall]

I'm going with "it's dying", like you suspect.

It seems like people only run into drive compatibility when they get into 1TB and larger or externals that are actually multiple drives that are RAID'd to appear as a single drive. If you already have drives, there's ZERO harm in trying them. If they're recognized, I'm 99% sure they're going to work fine.

 

[MikeMoss]

Hi

Thanks for the information, I'll sign up for the service and plug in my hard drive and see what happens.

Mike

 

[Bobby]

Hi

Thanks for the information, I'll sign up for the service and plug in my hard drive and see what happens.

Mike

Mike, there is nothing to sign up for, simply plug the EHD in...

 

[Chimera]

Don't forget the drive has to be formatted by the Hopper so you can't use it for anything else at the same time. Also plan for a lonnnngggggg wait, moving data from my 75% full Hopper ready for my H3 install tomorrrow has taken 16 hours so far.

 

[Hall]

The installer can leave the 'old' Hopper to allow you to transfer recordings. You can also look at everything recorded and ask, "do I really need to keep this ?" and skip things.

 

[Ray M]

Hoppers can transfer files between them using an Ethernet cable, the hopper 3 does NOT always recognize an EHD created by another DVR so I would not trust that the files on your EHD would be recognized by the H3. Have the install tech set up a transfer between the hopper so you don't loose your recordings.

 

[Hall]

I suppose that can happen but it seems to be a pretty rare occurrence as not many people here have reported it .... and people here are the more likely crowd to even attach an external drive vs the average customer.